Big game, whale season and the best birding on earth, ranked, with what you’ll see and when to go.
Nothing beats seeing it in the wild. We ranked the planet’s great wildlife destinations by the encounter, with what you’ll see and the season to see it.
The Great Migration and big-cat country across two of Africa’s legendary parks. The herds cross the Mara River between July and October, but the resident cats are there year round.
Fearless tortoises, iguanas and boobies, the islands that taught us evolution. A live-aboard reaches outer islands a day boat never will, which is the difference between a good trip and the trip.
Mokoro safaris through a flooded wilderness of elephants, lions and birdlife. The flood arrives in the dry season, which is why May to September is both the best game viewing and the highest water.
The world’s best place to reliably see wild jaguars along the rivers. The Transpantaneira road is the whole itinerary, and boating the Cuiabá tributaries at dawn is how the sightings happen.
Orangutans, pygmy elephants and proboscis monkeys along the Kinabatangan. The river cruises are the reliable half and Danum Valley is where the forest is still intact. Do both if you have the week.
Polar bears on the autumn tundra and beluga whales in the summer bay. There is no road in, so the train or the plane is part of the trip. The bears gather in October waiting for the bay to freeze.
The accessible Big Five classic, self-drive or guided, on a budget or in style. Self-drive is the cheapest real safari in Africa; the private reserves on the western boundary are the best of it.
Bengal tigers prowling among the ruins of an ancient hilltop fort. Zones are allotted by lottery and the tigers have not read the map. Book several drives rather than one and hope.
Vast penguin colonies, breaching whales and ice at the bottom of the world. Everything turns on the Drake Passage crossing, or the flight that skips it. December brings chicks, February whales.
World-class whale-watching with humpbacks, orcas and rafts of sea otters. A submarine canyon runs close to shore, so the whales do too. Boats leave from the wharf most of the year.
A fully-researched destination (ranked, mapped and paired with video) in your inbox every Thursday.
